The Ladies and the Spy
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day sixty: 12 Days of Gleekmas, Day 9: Rachel has a particular way of clearing her mind to think.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle. Now entering the seventh through ninth weeks, here comes cycle 3 of my gleekathon!_

_I wanted to do something Christmas-y, but not overly so, but then the song was perfect for this. So the stories in and of themselves aren't Christmas-themed, just the thing that inspired them is ;) You'll see :)_

_So presenting... **The 12 Days of Gleekmas - Day 9:** Rachel + "Nine Ladies Dancing"_

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**"The Ladies and the Spy"  
Rachel**

She was not a cheater. She wasn't going in there to steal Vocal Adrenaline's routines – if she was, a camera would have been helpful. No, she wasn't there to steal. Her motivations were solely based on curiosity. It was almost meditative. She could sit there and watch them rehearse, and her mind would clear.

She'd driven in on that particular day with something on her mind that needed resolving. With everything that had happened with Sectionals, Quinn's secret coming out… The club was able to come together in times of need – they'd seen it with Finn's return, their victory, thanking Mr. Schuester…

But now they had real time to look forward to. The more time that went by, with this animosity hanging over their heads. If it was allowed to go on too long, it would poison the club…

When she made her way into the auditorium, she saw the whole group wasn't there, only some of the girls, nine of them. They were warming up for… whatever it was they'd be doing.

They didn't rehearse the songs themselves, only the choreography for the moment. This number appeared to feature the nine girls on their own, from what she could see.

As she watched them, her mind wandered back to the issues swarming around her own club. She'd been the one to let the secret out, but it wasn't completely her fault either. She didn't know the circumstances, didn't know what had led to all the secrets, so it was hard to really place opinion on Quinn's actions, and Puck, and Finn… She hated how it was affecting Finn though. She hated to see him go through all this.

She wasn't sure how Finn and Puck would ever reconcile. She cared for both of them, but this was bigger than her… beyond her. She understood the betrayal he must have been feeling, if only to a point. The only part of this that could legitimately concern her was wondering if this would come to a head in any way that would hurt the rest of the club. Maybe it wouldn't… they'd made it through Sectionals in one piece… But that was only one number. There were plenty of other opportunities out there for that to change. She'd like to think they'd be able to keep it that way, in peace, but again… she understood the betrayal.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when she saw the rehearsal had stopped, as the girls on stage stood in a V-formation, staring out into the audience of blank seats, staring out at the one seat which wasn't in fact empty. Rachel tensed up, seeing the displeased look on their faces. It wasn't as lethal as she'd seen from the likes of Sue Sylvester, but they would have made her proud.

She wasn't sure how to proceed. If she moved in that moment, would they pounce? Run after her? She doubted she could get very far before they'd catch up.

So she would go for the diplomatic approach. She got up, straightening her clothes before she walked on down the aisle toward the stage. The girls came toward the steps, climbing down, staying on the steps so that they looked tiered, two by two with a row of three at the back, the 'top' tier. Rachel came to a stop a couple feet from them.

"Hello," Rachel started, before one of the girls in front spoke.

"Do you have nothing better to do than spy on us?"

"You're always here," the second girl nodded along.

"I'm sorry if I've offended you somehow. I would see it as a compliment. You guys are really good. I was just watching," she pulled on her diplomacy.

"You watch a lot," said the first girl.

"Watching for yourself or for your club?" the second girl piped in.

"This is so Bring It On…" a girl in the back spoke. The others turned to look at her, and she quieted up.

"It's nothing like that, I assure you. New Directions doesn't need to do any of the things you're suggesting. We may not be as… produced as you are, but we do our own thing. I just come here to appreciate," she nodded. The collective was silent for a moment.

"You talk a lot," the first girl frowned.

"You're more than welcome to sit in on our rehearsals. It would only be fair," Rachel concluded with another nod before turning on her heel and moving up the aisle out of the auditorium.

On her own now, Rachel dropped the face-off face, as her thoughts wandered back to the issues that had brought her to Carmel High that day.

She didn't have a solution for all their problems… not yet. And if she did find a solution, it wouldn't settle everything. Some of it would have to come from Finn, Puck, Quinn… Whatever happened though, she'd back up her teammates, her friends.

THE END


End file.
